A/N: Okay, so I know that this is WAYYYYYYY OVERDUE! :( Please forgive me, but for some reason this story has not been talking to me. On top of that I have been so busy with school and personal life that I haven't been able to write as much as I would like.

Also, my chapters may be shorter (like this one) from now on. I spend so much effort trying to write chapters between 6-10 pages that sometimes I get frustrated, but if I can break them up into shorter bits, maybe it won't take me so long to update.

This is where the adventure really begins for the pack and Bella on their search for Alice.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the story line.

Chapter 14

The Quest Begins

JASPOV

We stepped out back of the Inn, the least likely place for people to see us. It was late afternoon, but still sunny out as though everything was good and right in the world. Except that it wasn't. It was far from good and right in the world. Vampires had somehow made it to us, and they had my sister. It was surprising that they never made it over from Habrigdon sooner. It was difficult to speculate why they were here now, but whatever the reason, I suspected it wasn't good.

Jake had been lucky enough to take down one of them, but we still had two more. Hell, we didn't know what they were doing. For all we knew, they could be building an army. I shuddered at that thought. Killing two vampires would be hard enough, but an army?

Jake was hugging Bella tightly to him. I saw his reasoning in wanting to keep her at his side, but at the same time I feared for all of us. Bella was only human. She didn't have any special powers, and I feared that this might distract Jake. I could only hope his role as pack leader would remind him about the bigger picture; bigger than his love for Bella, and my concern for Alice. We had to eliminate the vampires.

Finally Jake cleared his throat, "Let's get this bitch moving." He looked at me, "When you shift, are you gonna look exactly like one of us?"

I shook my head, "I can, but I've learned to modify the details as I shift so I'm not an exact copy. And I'll still be able to read your mind, so just keep me informed about what's going on."

He nodded, "Of course." He slapped a hand to my back, squeezing my shoulder, "We'll get her back. And we'll take these fucking leeches down too."

A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips, "Hell yeah we will."

With that, Jake kissed Bella one more time as we moved toward the tree line for cover. Bella turned her back courteously, as every one stripped down. One by one I watched the guys shift into their forms, taking note of each of their individualities. Jake was by far the largest, very obviously the pack leader. When they finished, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. In my mind I could see my form, about the same size as the other pack members, my fur a sandy blond, much like my own hair color. When I opened my eyes, I was staring eye level with the rest of the pack.

"Whoa," I heard Embry say, "That's insane."

"Nice choice," Jake said, a nod of the head my way.

I issued a nod back, "Thanks."

"What the..." Jake started, "I can hear you!"

"What? How is that even possible?"

"I think you've just become part of the pack," Jake said, the curiosity swirling in his voice. "I don't know how, but I can say something feels different."

"Yeah," Quil chimed in, "The pack feels complete now. Like you were meant to be part of it all along."

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this. All my life I had thought I was a freak in a lot of ways. I'd never made any friends as good as what I had with Jake. In many ways, he was like a brother to me.

"Welcome home brother," Jake said. "You're where you belong."

I smiled, because it was true. Even with the turmoil going on around us, this sudden merging had filled something inside of me, and I did feel like I belonged.

Bella moved over to climb onto Jake's back. She smiled at me, her eyes full of sympathy. However, the fear that was in them was also apparent. She should be scared. She should be worried. What we were about to face was far worse than anything any of us could ever imagine. I was afraid to think it, but it was possible that some of us might not survive.

JKPOV

"Keep your chin up, baby doll," I said as I hugged Bella tightly to me. "We'll get through this, and when we're done, our life will truly begin."

She squeezed me tightly, breathing me in, "I'm so scared, Jake."

"I know baby. I am too. I just need you to be strong." I kissed the top of her head, then she lifted her eyes to meet mine. Already, my heart was breaking. I could see how scared she was, but how hard she was fighting to not be. I leaned down and pressed a kiss against her lips softly, trying to squash her fears. When I released her she pulled her arms from around me, placing her hands against my chest. I took them into mine and held them over my heart, "You've given me every reason to live, and every reason to fight. We're going to be fine. I love you."

She smiled and then nodded, "I love you too." She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly before saying, "I'm ready."

I cleared my throat, turning to the guys, "Let's get this bitch moving!"

I spoke with Jazz briefly about what we should expect with his shift. Then, we gathered under the cover of the trees and began shifting.

Jazz was last, as he watched the rest of us, studying our form and movement. Finally, he closed his eyes and his change happened. When he was done, he stood before us, lean, sandy blond fur and the same sapphire eyes.

It was weird. In that moment after Jazz's shift, something felt different. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Embry seemed quite impressed, "Whoa. That's insane."

I too agreed, "Nice choice."

Jasper nodded and then his voice broke through to me, catching me off guard as he said, "Thanks."

"What the... I can hear you!"

This was definitely odd. But suddenly, it made sense. The change I felt when Jasper shifted was him becoming part of the pack. I remember feeling it the first time Quil changed and joined the pack. With Embry it wasn't as noticeable, and with Seth it was even less noticeable. The only thing I could conclude from that was that maybe because Jasper was a multi-shifter, his presence was different.

Jasper said something else, and sure enough, we could all communicate.

"Welcome home brother," I said.

But something even weirder was happening. Not only could I hear Jasper, but I could feel him too. But not in the same sense as normal. I could sit here all day and think about how much I love Bella, and the guys could see it in my mind, but they could never truly know how I feel.

But I could feel Jasper. I could feel every little emotion that flooded through him the moment he realized what was happening. The first thing he thought was about how lonely he used to be. And the sadness he felt when thinking about how alone he had been, washed over me so intensely that I gasped.

"What the fuck is going on?" Quil yelped, "Jasper! What are you doing?"

Jasper looked at us, and his mood changed. Now, the sense of belonging, of utter and complete happiness showered us, penetrating to the core of us.

Embry started laughing uncontrollably at the bliss radiating through him.

I looked to Jasper, "You don't realize what you're doing, do you?"

Jasper looked at me, "What are you talking about?"

"I can feel you, Jasper. What you're feeling right now; that bliss? We can all feel it."

A twinge of fear crept in all of us at that moment, then a sense of calm, "You can feel my emotions? Is that normal?"

I shook my head, "Normally, we can see how we feel but the actual feeling isn't portrayed. Here, I want to test something."

Jasper nodded, "Okay."

I imagined myself with Bella as we shared our first kiss in the rain. Not a moment later I felt the love I was feeling swell, as if it were rolling in waves, and I heard the guys gasp.

"Jake, this is totally wigging me out man," Quil said.

"Next one," I said. This time, I imagined the waterfall, but without Bella there. Just peaceful, quiet serenity. Then, everyone was calm. I smiled, realizing how beneficial this could be for us, "Jasper, you can control emotions."

He didn't say anything for a moment, but his mood was calm, "Wow, this is all so weird."

"Have you never noticed it before?"

"Now that I think about it," he continued, "I used to shift, and scare people for the hell of it. And sometimes I'd think about how scared I'd want them to be, and they would be that scared. But I never really thought about it."

"Well, this can be both beneficial to us and dangerous. You have to do your best to keep it in check," I said.

He nodded.

By now, Bella had climbed onto my back, but had not said anything. She was stroking my fur, just waiting for us to go. "Let's get out of here. Once we start moving Jazz, do me a favor, focus your energy on Bella. Try to make her sleepy so that she can get some rest. It may take some practice, but that's what we're going to do as we travel. I think that it could be beneficial. I'm also definitely curious to see whether or not you can control the emotions of those bloodsuckers.

"I hadn't thought about that," Jasper replied, his excitement boiling beneath the surface.

We started moving through the woods swiftly. We stayed off the main path, following the stench of the bloodsuckers. It was faint in the air , but I could still smell it.

Jasper ran to the right of me, and I could feel him focusing his energy on Bella. The feeling of fatigue was faint to all of us, a sign that he was exerting his energies to making Bella sleepy while trying to keep us uneffected. It wasn't long before I felt her drift off on my back.

"Good job," I encouraged Jasper.

We moved swiftly and quietly through the trees, a sense of urgency and anxiousness was apparent in all of us. Jasper used this as an opportunity, sending waves of calm through the pack. As we came up upon the area where I had found Bella the night before, we slowed to a stop. The carriage was still there, abandoned. Eventually, someone would come along to retrieve it, or it would be scavenged for parts.

The nights' events passed through my head like a movie, and Jasper saw it all first hand. I felt guilty as I could sense the anger he was trying to hide. He may not have been angry with me, but he was angry nonetheless.

I sniffed around a bit, "Do you guys remember where you followed them?"

"Yeah."

"Show me," I ordered.

We continued running, Embry projected the images like a map in my head until we had run another half hour. The stench of the vampires was stronger now, combined with the scent of smoke. Ahead, I could see a billowy mass rising from the ground.

"Alice!" Jasper cried.

We all stopped, looking to the burning embers.

I sniffed the air, searching for any sign of Alice in the remains.

Nothing.

"I don't think she's here," I said.

Jasper agreed, but the panic beneath his exterior was apparent, "I don't sense her either. I'm not sure whether to be relieved or not."

"It could mean she's still alive," I offered, trying to make him feel better. No one said anything, but we all thought about the 'other' alternative to her being alive. "We keep moving."

The stench was stronger here; a hopeful sign that we weren't far behind.

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